Second production well under way at SE Etame platform offshore Gabon

August 13, 2015

Offshore staff

HOUSTON – VAALCO Energy says the jackup Transocean Constellation II has completed drilling the first well from the SEENT platform on its Etame field offshore Gabon.

The Southeast Etame 2-H well, which came online at around 3,400 b/d of oil, was targeting a new reservoir discovered by an exploration well drilled in 2010. It is producing from the Gamba formation, the source of all other current VAALCO production in the Etame Marin area.

Currently it is not producing any formation water or hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and it is also producing at the lowest setting on the electrical submersible pump. VAALCO plans to continue to monitor wellhead and downhole pressure and optimize fluid throughput at the platform’s recently commissioned production facilities.

The rig has since moved to a second slot on the eight-slot platform to drill the North Tchibala 1-H development well, targeting the Dentale formation in the previously unproduced North Tchibala field, discovered and delineated by four exploration and appraisal wells drilled by previous block owners.

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VAALCO and its partners have established a team to evaluate potential options for removal of H2S from impacted wells in the Ebouri and Etame fields. Their focus is on cost-effective options for processing the sour crude including chemical removal, construction of smaller facilities on existing structures, or the use of surplus equipment and used structures.

If they can identify a solution, the project could get under way this fall, with a view to re-establishing production from the area impacted by H2S as soon as practical.